(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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2 Samuel 4:1–8, “And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin: And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.) And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.”
Saul’s son Ishbosheth had been relying on Abner to keep him in power. After he quarrelled with Abner, his position became even more precarious because he had not strong military backing any more. When he heard that Abner was dead, he and all his followers were afraid of in their developing situation. There were two brothers who decided to take advantage of the situation but they didn’t understand how a man after the Lord’s own heart would approach any matter. These men decided to kill Ishbosheth and they stabbed him while he was sleeping in the heat of the day. They took his head to David to prove that Ishbosheth was indeed dead. A small aside is added to this history to introduce a man called Mephibosheth. Jonathan, David’s best friend had a son who was still quite young when Saul and his armies were defeated. When the Israelis heard that Saul had been defeated they left their homes and ran to hide in the hills. Mephibosheth’s nurse dropped him as she ran and he lost the use of his legs.
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